Shackleford speaks out against the passage of anti-homeless senate bill

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, the Indiana House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 285, which makes the use of public land or property a Class C misdemeanor. In Indiana, a Class C misdemeanor can result in up to 60 days in jail or a fine of up to $500. The bill also requires local law enforcement agencies to report the number of arrests made to the Indiana State Police Department.

State Rep. Robin Shackleford (D-Indianapolis), who voted against the bill, issued the following statement:

“I agree wholeheartedly that homelessness is a crisis. Any number of unhoused individuals on the streets is too many, but SB 285 only deals with the symptoms of that crisis – not the problem itself.

“There is evidence from our southern neighbors that this sort of legislation is ineffective. In 2024, Kentucky passed a street camping ban very similar to SB 285. After that law had been in effect for a year, statewide data was compiled into a post-mortem report. The report revealed that 425 unhoused individuals were unlawfully arrested for street camping that year. The report also suggests that this type of legislation needlessly increases unhoused people’s involvement in the criminal legal system while providing few to no opportunities for housing.

“Additionally, this bill will take up space in our already-overcrowded local jails and bog down the justice system. Unhoused Hoosiers don’t need a jail cell or a $500 fine. What they need is for their government to invest time and resources to help them lift themselves out of a desperate situation.”